


Parallel Scars

by Tenmashi



Category: Broadchurch
Genre: Alec Hardy Needs A Hug, Asexual Alec Hardy, Asexual Relationship, Depression, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Romance, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Post-season 2 AU?, Queerplatonic Relationships, Recovery, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-03
Updated: 2020-05-11
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:34:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22547878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tenmashi/pseuds/Tenmashi
Summary: Alec Hardy slips into depression somewhere post season 2 and a friend from the past shows up to support him through this. Eventual Alec/OMC ace relationship.
Relationships: Alec Hardy/Original Male Character(s)
Comments: 15
Kudos: 52





	1. Reaching out

**Author's Note:**

> Very first fic I dare to publish, I've been flirting with writing for all my life but never really push through. Not sure if I will be able to finish this, sorry in advance if this ends up happening.
> 
> I want to add the disclaimer that I am not on the ace spectrum myself so I am terribly sorry if I mess things up. I'm a queen nonbinary person and faithful ally of the ace community. The OMC in this fic has been an ace character of mine for years and I enjoy shipping him with Hardy, and I figured the fandom could use some M/M fics as well as more ace!Alec. <3 Also I pray I haven't mixed up their names anywhere. Alec and Alex, very practical.. in my defense my OMC was named Alex long before Broadchurch aired, haha!
> 
> Please let me know of any errors. Not proof-read or beta'd. I'm jumping in blind.

_Hey Alec, it’s been a while. How have you been?_ February 8th 20:24

 _Sorry for the radio silence. Been through some stuff. Hope you’re ok._ March 11th 14:10

 _Would like to hear from you. Talk to you soon?_ March 25th 18:03

 _Hey, getting a bit worried. Please text me._ April 4th 23:11

 _Alec?_ April 5th 21:05

Former-DI Alec Hardy was sitting on his couch, staring at the messages on the phone in his hand. He was back in the blue house in Broadchurch, though he still did not know why exactly he had returned here.

After finally closing the case on Sandbrook and fixing his heart his life had not gone back to the way it was. Before his heart gave out, before finding out his wife had an affair, before finding Pippa’s body in the river.

He had tried to get back what he had. What he and Tess had. Of course that was gone.

Realising he had lost all what he once had he returned to the last place that could remotely resemble “home”. Somehow he found himself back in Broadchurch. In that same blue house.

Why had he bothered coming here?

Suddenly his phone started vibrating and the sound of his ringtone filled his tiny living space. Alec stared at the screen, showing the name of his friend who had been texting him several times the past few weeks, months.

How could he answer the phone after all those years? They had met on a case years ago back in Sandbrook, before his marriage fell apart. It had been a case involving identity theft other data crimes and Alex had been called in to help. 

Besides similar names they had a matching lack of social skills and soon they formed a bond of mutual respect. In their lives that equated to a friendship and thus they kept in contact through text messages throughout the years.

Except just before when all went to shit in Alec’s life, Alex had sent a text apologizing in advance for being out of reach for a while. And that was that, until now.

Alec was still staring at his phone, not intending to pick up the call but not bothering to cancel it either. At least it cut through the quiet.

Eventually the call went away and Alec dragged himself to his bedroom. Curling up in his single bed he fell asleep. Maybe tomorrow would be better.

\---

He woke up to the noise of someone banging on his door.

“Sir? Open the door!”

Alec groaned and curled deeper under the covers.

“ALEC WAKE UP!” She was banging on his bedroom window now and before even consciously recognizing her voice he shouted out: “Go away Miller!” knowing very well this wouldn’t make her leave.

“Just open the door already!”

“Alright alright, give me a minute!”

Grabbing whatever clothing he could find on the floor he sloppily dressed himself. By the time he walked through the sliding doors opening to his backyard he had half heartedly hoped Miller had gone away.

Of course she was still standing there, her arms crossed and her face furious. Though a hint of something else as well, sadness? Nevermind.

He shoved open the door and stood in the doorway, not feeling like letting her in.

“Why are you here Miller?”

“Could ask you the same question. I thought you were going back to Sandbrook?”

“Yeah, well, didn’t work out.”

“So you’ve come back to this place?” Alec wasn’t sure if she meant this sad excuse for a house or Broadchurch in general.

“So you’re a DI yet?” He attempted to change the subject, maybe she’d get bored and go away eventually.

“No. I told you I don’t want that job, not anymore. They’ve been begging me to ever since you left, is that why you’re back? Coming back for the job without even telling me? You could’ve at least sent a text!” Ellie was obviously pissed at Alec returning to town and not even having told her, or anyone for that matter. Hold on, how did she find him?

“How did you even know I was here?” Alec sniped, probably more hostile than intended.

“I got a call from a guy named Alex, says he’s your friend? Didn’t even know you had any.”

“He called you? What for?”

“He was worried about you. Rightfully so, you look like shit. More than usual.”

“Thanks Miller.”

“What’s going on?”

“Go away.”

Before she realised what he was doing he had shut and locked the door, closing the curtains for good measure. Ellie groaned in frustration, but realised there was nothing she could do. She was worried about him, but despite their growing friendship the past few months he would not let her in, literally and figuratively.

She returned to her car to get back to work, her lunch break was almost over and she hadn’t even eaten yet. “Stupid git.” she mumbled under her breath and resolved to call back this Alex person on the drive back to the station.

\---

Alex had a rather anxious disposition. He was aware of this and knew this probably played a large part in the worry he felt for Alec Hardy.

For them it wasn’t unusual to go a while without contact, but often no longer than a month or so and they’d always let each other know they had read the message and were just busy. The life of a DI was often a bit of a wild ride and so was Alex’s.

Alex was what you’d call a “white hat hacker”, basically someone who hacked into interfaces to figure out where their weaknesses lie so they could be resolved. Well, that was part of what he did, working for some secret intelligence agency that he never really specified. Probably Interpol, maybe CIA, who knows. He could be called in at all hours of the day and night, which led to a rather challenging lifestyle.

Upside was that he could work from pretty much any place in the world, so he had decided to come back to Europe and look up Alec. Which was probably a bit much given what little he knew of the circumstances, though he had tried to find out as much as possible.

At first he had tried to reach Alec as usual, with several messages and phone calls which were all left ignored. At least his phone still worked.

After a while he begrudgingly phoned Tess. He and Tess never really got along, Tess was a very different person and while they worked together she often got annoyed with his antics. To be fair, most people got annoyed with Alex at one point, but that didn’t make him like them any better. He never mentioned his dislike of her to Alec at the time, he basically worshipped her and it was none of Alex’s business anyway. As long as they steered clear of each other all was good.

The phone call with Tess was worrying. Tess had told him they were no longer together and if he wanted to know about Alec he should call Ellie Miller instead. She was very curt and didn’t bother explaining, but at least she gave him Ellie’s number.

That’s how he had contacted Ellie, in the meantime figuring out his current address and asking Ellie Miller if she could check up on him. When she called back expressing her own worries he decided to go snooping online. 

Of course he knew where to find anything on anyone, the only reason he had held back before was because he knew people didn’t appreciate invading their privacy like that. Having known Alec for a while he was sure he’d be furious, but he wasn’t willing to talk to him either.

He’d found the media coverage on the Sandbrook case, the case files, the interview with DI Hardy about how _someone_ on his team had lost the evidence while having an affair, the Latimer case in Broadchurch, more media coverage, _worst cop in Britain_. He started piecing things together, and it wasn’t looking good.

By the time he landed in London he sorely hoped he got it all wrong and he travelled all this way for nothing.

He hoped it again when he stood outside Alec’s door, second guessing himself once again.

\---

Alex stood outside the backdoors of Alec Hardy’s blue cottage, considering turning around and leaving. Alec was not expecting him and he would certainly not be pleased to have someone (anyone) suddenly show up at his door, invading his life.

His gut feeling told him he could not abandon his friend however. He could not turn his back on a friend on the chance it would all be for nothing and only piss him off. Not if his instincts were telling him something was terribly wrong and his friend needed help. If he turned away now and something happened he would never forgive himself.

So while he was not a particularly brave man, Alex knocked on Alec’s door and prepared himself for a tiny window of opportunity.

Alec opened the door and stared at Alex in silence, his mouth slightly open. “Wa?”

Alex knew he’d find resistance as soon as Alec recovered from the shock, so he quickly pushed past his friend into the cottage. 

The heavy musty smell hit him like a brick wall as soon as he entered the cottage. He had to control himself not to comment, this was definitely not the time to comment on the state of his living space. 

The living room was a mess with various clothing items and dirty dishes strewn around and caked with dust. Turning back towards Alec, who still stood frozen in the doorway, he got a look into the bedroom where the floor could not be seen through the layer of clothing. He only glanced at the kitchen area, where the distinct smell of dirty dishes and mold came from.

“It’s good to see you.” Alex started, waiting anxiously for how Alec would respond. He was still staring at him from the doorway, looking rather lost and needing a moment before forming a reply.

“Why are you here?”

“I was worried. So is Ellie, by the way.”

“You shouldn’t have called her.”

“Well I tried Tess first.”

Alec winced at hearing the name of his ex and Alex mentally scolded himself for mentioning her. Racking his brain on how to continue the conversation, Alex turned to a simple statement.

“It’s been a while.”

At that Alec snorted and looked at his feet, which was a sad sound but at least some sort of emotional response better than wincing.

“You could say that.” He looked up at Alex again, “A lot has changed.”

Alex nodded, and noted how bad his friend looked. He had always been a slim and lanky person, but he was downright thin right now. His beard had grown wild, his hair greasy and sticking out in different directions. He was scary to look at, most of all because it reminded Alex of a time in his own life. A bad time. He had hit rock bottom.

Taking a deep breath in the heavy air of the cottage Alex resolved to do all he can. Starting with the basics.

“When did you last eat?”

At that Alec narrowed his eyes, “You can’t fix me.”

“No, and I’m not here to fix you. I am here to help you, however. So stop being a knob and let’s get some food into you.”

It seemed like Alec shriveled down, appearing smaller than he actually was. Too tired to argue and secretly grateful it wasn’t Miller seeing him like this, he simply nodded.

  
  



	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally wrote a new chapter, sorry for taking forever! Once again sorry for any spelling mistakes and any and all terrible writing for being inexperienced. Please leave a comment. o3o

Alec remembered the time he and Alex had worked together. And Tess. It was painful to think of her. 

Alex and Tess never really got along. Tess was a no-nonsense type of gall and always got what she wanted by sheer effort. Alex was sensitive in a way, though also unable to compromise on the things that were important to him. The way Tess dominated her surroundings annoyed Alex, and Alex’s quirks and rigid ways annoyed Tess.

Nevertheless Alec and the computer nerd got along and they successfully closed a big case involving identity theft and a whole slew of online crimes. They kept in touch ever since, occasionally texting about whatever case they were working. Sometimes they even talked about their personal lives, as far as they had any.

Until Alex informed him he’d be going off the radar for a bit. The DI had wondered what was had happened to his long-distance friend, but with everything that had happened in the meantime he hadn’t had thought to ask yet.

And now this man with just as little of a social life as him was standing in his living room. Seeing what had become of the worst cop in Britain. Did he even know about what happened? How much did Miller tell him?

“Is Thai alright? There aren’t many options in this town.” Alex’s question brought him back to the present. Right, food.

“Sure.” he answered, watching him scroll through his phone and tapping away.

“Want to pick something or shall I just order some stuff?”

Alec shrugged at that, not really caring for food at the moment. He knew he had to eat and his stomach was rumbling a while ago, but that didn’t matter much. Apparently Alex got the message despite not looking up from his phone until finishing the order. Ordering food via an app on your phone was one of mankind’s greatest inventions according to the tech, happy to not have to talk to anyone on the phone.

“Alright, so that’s food sorted. Cuppa?” Alex finally looked up, not quite meeting his eyes but friendly. The former DI shrugged again, soon regretting his lack of action as Alex made his way to the kitchen and rummaged around to get the kettle going.

To make up for it he cleared the table as much as he could. Over the months paperwork and all kinds of knick-knacks had gathered on the surface, he hadn’t sat at the table to eat or have tea in weeks. Shoving aside some piles of assorted papers he made enough space for the two of them to sit, including moving more things from the chairs to the floor.

“Ah, there we go.” Alex set down two cups of steaming hot water and a box of teabags he had managed to find in the cupboard. He said it as if Alec had done a good job cleaning, which he felt he certainly hadn’t.

For a while they sat in silence, sipping their tea and not making eye contact.

Alec grew increasingly nervous.

“Aren’t you going to ask?” The Scot was staring at his surprise visitor now, as if challenging him.

“Ask what?” Alex’s face was unreadable and Alec had to remind himself he did that sometimes. He was sincere where it was unexpected.

“How my life got... shit?” He hesitated how to describe his current state, the state of his house.

Alex looked at him for a long moment. He wasn’t good at this, reading people and saying the right things. He had to try though, and after all this was Alec. He knew he was genuinely worried.

“Do you want to tell me about it?” It was an offer, Alec realised. He didn’t have to tell him.

Resting his elbows on the table he rubbed at his face, at the same time releasing a breath he didn’t know he had been keeping. “How much do you know?”

“Not much, I read the Sandbrook files and the media coverage and pieced some stuff together.” Alec grunted, but didn’t interrupt him. “That must’ve been hard.”

At that the ex-copper snorted. A generic platitude from his socially awkward friend who didn’t usually bothered with niceties, he must be looking really down in the dumbs. “Never thought I’d hear those words from you.” he said with a lopsided grin and soon Alec was grinning back.

“Sorry, I know I’m rubbish at this.”

“Ye don’t say!”

Alec shrugged and fidgeted with his now empty teacup.

“So what about you then, eh?” Alec looked up in surprise, startled to have the question directed back at him.

“Err, wasn’t doing to great when I texted you about being gone for a bit. Hospitalised for a bit and such.” He was squirming in his seat now, but continued talking. “I was, uh, getting too dependant on pot and, uh, other things. Wasn’t feeling good, got real bad for a bit.”

Alex was managing his anxiety with weed at the time Alec met him, but he hadn’t expected it had gotten out of hand. There was probably more he wasn’t telling, but so was he.

“I’m feeling better now though. Got some really good help and got back on my feet.” It was true, despite the sensitive conversation Alex did look less anxious and more confident. He’d changed in the past few years.

“You do look good. Happy I mean.” Alec admitted.

“Thanks.” Alex smiled, before his gaze turned more serious. “Is it alright if I crash on your couch? Don’t worry about the stuff,” he added quickly at Alec’s worried look, “I’ll take care of it.”

“Hnng you don’t have to do that, I can do it.” If was going to let Alex sleep on his couch the least he could do was clear it of all the old clothes dumped on it.

Alex shrugged, “Alright, just pass me the clothes and I’ll throw them in the washing machine.”

For a moment Alec considered declining the offer, but in reality he really needed the help. They set to work and by the time the sun had set they had put in a load of laundry, cleared the couch, ate a meal and set up the couch as a place for Alex to sleep.

Alec was exhausted, but it felt different from the listlessness he had felt the past weeks. He fell asleep quickly.

Of course that was not to last.


	3. Chapter 3

Alex was sound asleep in the couch, when all of a sudden he heard a noise. Still half asleep he could not describe the noise, but it had sounded worrying. A cry for help maybe?

Rolling off the couch his brain tried to catch up and he finally realised where he was: Broadchurch. Alec’s house. Couch. Alec. The noise had come from Alec’s bedroom.

Before he had well and truly woken up he scrambled towards the bedroom door and shoved it open, calling out for his friend. Inside he found him curled up on the floor next to his bed, sobbing uncontrollably and not reacting to the call of his name.

Alex called out again, softly this time while crouching down and visually checking his distressed friend for any injuries. Thankfully he found none, and he started to suspect what had happened. He did what he had learn to do in these situations, where a friend he cared for was upset, and reached out to rest his hand on Alec’s shoulder.

At the touch Alec became aware of his visitor being right next to them and looked up, still sniveling but visibly calming down. “Alex.. I’m sorry for waking you up.” he croaked out, voice hoarse from both sleep and crying.

Alex smiled, “No worries.. what happened?” he prodded, hoping Alec would be willing to share.

The reply was a shrug and a mumbled, “nightmares” before Alec pushed himself off the floor to sit on his bed. For a moment Alex wondered what to do next, but decided he wouldn’t back off just yet and sit next to him on the bed. Together they sat in silence for a while, until Alec started speaking again.

“It was similar to the usual ones. You know, the drowning.” He had shared his nightmares of finding Pippa in the river when he first started getting them. They’d never really left, but Alex didn’t know that. He had missed a lot of what had happened the past few months.

“Except it wasn’t Pippa this time, it was-” he choked up, unable to finished the sentence he’d started. “I had a heart problem a while back. Arrhythmia. Still do actually, but” and he patted on his chest, “got a pacemaker to fix it.”

He shouldn’t have been surprised when the man next to him nodded knowingly, but he still raised his eyebrows in question. Picking up on the unasked question he apologised. “Sorry, checked your medical records too.”

The former DI grumbled, “Should’ve known you would.” He wasn’t really upset, knowing very well what kind of information the hacker could get his hands on if he wanted. He supposed he should feel flattered Alex cared enough to check.

“Anyway, before I got the pacemaker I’d often wake up from one of those nightmares in the middle of an attack. I’d wake up and still be gasping for air and…”

“It still scares you.”

Alec nodded solemnly, staring into the distance beyond his bedroom wall.

“That must be upsetting.”

At that Alec snorted again, a surprising but welcome sound after the anxious energy. “Spare me the platitudes, Alex.”

Alex grinned, “Sorry, will never do it again.”

“Liar.”

“Don’t tempt me.”

Alex was the type of person who could vow to never utter any platitude towards Alec ever again, so he didn’t press it. He regretted it when Alex asked him about the subject of his nightmare.

“But it wasn’t Pippa this time?” Alec just shook his head, eyes on the ground.

“Let’s get back to bed.” The DI tried, but once again Alex had resolved to press on.

“Who did you dream of?” Alex asked while Alec already moved to get back into bed, pointedly ignoring the question. The younger man sighed and got off the bed and back towards the living room, but while he was leaving the bedroom the door Alec confessed.

“I dreamt about you.” He couldn’t look him in the eye, but did see Alex nodding in understanding before closing the door behind him.

**

They did not speak of it the next morning. Instead Alec was greeted by a fresh cup of tea while Alex was pottering about in the kitchen. He had cleared out the fridge and done part of the washing up, which mainly involved getting rid of old scraps left on plates and flushing unknown liquids down the drain. The kitchen was still a chaos, but it was no longer a bio-hazard.

“We need to go to the shop today.” Alex said down across Alec, nursing his own cup of tea.

“Seems tea is all you’ve got left, we need food.” Alec couldn’t protest, even if he didn’t feel much like eating himself, he could not let his guest starve. Especially not after cleaning his kitchen.

“Also…” the tech trailed off, looking nervous.

“Out with it.” He was not going to like it, judging by the sigh.

“Are you seeing a professional yet? Don’t give me that look, you need help. I’m here to support you, but I’m far from professional psychologist.” Alec had rolled his eyes and looked in no way open to the idea.

“I don’t- I don’t need to see a professional, I-”

“No, Alec, stop. Stop kidding yourself and don’t insult me by trying to convince me you don’t need any help.” The formed DI had never hear his friend speak up like that and it stunned him, which was good as Alex was not prepared to let him have an word in edgewise.

“I know it’s hard, alright? Look, I know I haven’t told you much about what happened the past few months. It was bad, you know? I needed help, I got help. I wouldn’t still be here if I hadn’t and I am lucky I had a friend who got me the help I needed. So let me do the same for you, yeah?”

Alec stared at his friend, confused but also touched by the emotion in his voice. “Ok… but will you tell me what happened to you? Why I didn’t hear from you for all those months?”

Alex swallowed and squirmed in his seat, much like the day before when Alec had asked about his disappearance. It would do no good to lock up now though, they had to trust each other more than before.

“I wasn’t feeling good. Depressed. It just slowly got out of hand, smoking more pot every day until I was pretty much out of it all the time. I wasn’t eating, like you,” looking pointedly at Alec before continuing, “and I.. ugh. Ok, I used to harm myself? Been a way to deal with things for years. I didn’t really mean for it to get so far but I-” he was holding his head in his hands now, covering his face. “I messed up and ended up in the hospital.”

When Alec did not respond immediately he peeked through his fingers at his friend, anxious about his response.

“Oh.”

“Oh?”

“I’m trying to come up with a reply that’s not a shitty platitude.”

At that Alex let out a chuckle coupled with a sigh of relief. “It’s ok. There’s actually more to the story, but let’s save that for later. We still’ve got some shopping to do.”

“Aye.” Alec nodded and stood up to put away the dirty dishes. Alex was already having a good influence, he mused. Maybe he could try eating some more next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope y'all like it! Sorry for the slooow updating, I find it very scary to finally commit to a fic and share it with people so it takes some effort to sit down and write. I'm constantly doubting myself and worrying I forget things and make stupid mistakes, aaa!
> 
> I guess we're all in therapy. ;)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter this time, sorry! Rather update with shorter chapters a bit more often than take ages to upload a big one.

Shopping for groceries proved to be a challenge for both men. It was busy, many of the older town members liked to linger around in the supermarket to talk to strike up conversations with people they knew. Alec felt watched, as if they were all gossiping about him and how unhealthy he looked. “There goes shit-face.” he imagined them thinking, maybe whispering to their friends.

Alex wasn’t faring much better, not enjoying crowds and sensitive te the bright TL-lights and annoying music. It didn’t help they had a lot of items to pick up, as Alec had nothing left in his cupboards, but most challenging of all was figuring out dinner.

“I can’t really cook.” Alex confessed to his friend while they were standing in front of the produce section.

“It’s alright, I can cook.” Alec rubbed the back of his neck, a bit worried about being responsible for the cooking in his small home. Cooking used to be a bit of a hobby of his, but that was a long time ago. Hopefully it was a bit like riding a bike.

“Ok, can you pick out items for dinner then?” He looked equally nervous, but Alec was so consumed in his own worries he did not notice.

By the time they reached the check-out they had filled the cart with all the essentials, from breakfast items to a variety of vegetables and meats, as well as a couple of boxes of rice and pasta. And tea, lots of tea.

With a full car trunk they returned to the house and started unpacking. Thankfully Alex had cleaned the fridge and some of the cupboards. They were just putting away the last few items and in the process of brewing some fresh tea when they heard someone knocking on the glass sliding doors.

Alec moved to open the door, already expecting it to be Ellie standing in his small backyard.

“You’re looking better.”

“Uh, thanks?”

“Is that Ellie?” Alex shouted from the small kitchen, causing Ellie to raise her eyebrow. Alec was making that face again, where he was obviously annoyed with the situation but knowing very well there was nothing he could do.

“Eh, tea?” He offered, moving out of the way so she could step inside. Ellie couldn’t hide her smile while stepping past him into his house. It was still messy, but there was space for all three of them to sit and Alex was busy doing the dishes.

“Hello.” Ellie greeted, stepping into the kitchen to meet this mystery friend of her former boss. Alex turned around and moved his long hair out of his face.

“Hi, you must be Ellie.” He remembered to wipe his hand dry before offering a handshake.

“I’m guessing you’re the Alex I spoke to the other day.” she smiled while shaking his hand. Alex nodded in reply and wondered what to say next. The kettle came to his rescue with a ping.

“Tea?” Alex offered with a shy grin.

“Yes please.” Ellie was still smiling, not deterred by Alex’s awkwardness. Soon they were all seated at the table with a mug of tea, which went as well as you’d expect. Ellie was swifting her gaze between the two men, while Alec was focussing on a spot on the table while fiddling with the handle of his mug. Alex was looking at a point between of them, making several attempts to sip at his tea while it was obviously still to hot.

The tension was palpable and if it wasn’t for Ellie they would be sitting like that until the tea had cooled enough to be finished.

“So, how long have you known each other for?” Her question broke the silence. The two men looked at each other before Alex nodded at his friend. She’s your friend, you tell her, he thought to himself.

Alec took a sip of his tea and started telling Ellie about the case Alex had assisted in. How they bonded while working together, being similar in nature and both equally invested into catching the culprit. A friendship that started while working together but strengthened in the years afterwards, keeping contact through text messages and the occasional phone call.

While Alec was talking, Alex slowly disconnected from the conversation. At first he listened and confirmed and added to the story, but after a while he started participating less and less until his eyes glazed over and he appeared to zone out completely.

“Alex, are you alright?” Alec asked, worry showing on his face. Alex seemed to snap back into reality, having no idea what he and Ellie were even talking about before addressing him.

“Uh, yeah. Just tired.” It had been a long day for him, doing groceries in an unknown town after sleeping on the sofa and now being social with somebody he did not know. Honestly he was knackered.

“Perhaps time to leave you two alone then. I should get back to the boys anyway.” Ellie got up and collected her things, saying her goodbyes to the both of them.

Unsurprisingly Alec was just as tired as his friend and they agreed to having a nap before they’d have dinner tonight. Alex crawled back on the couch and was soon fast asleep, thankfully not awoken by Alec having a nightmare this time.

This was going to be a slow and exhausting recovery for the both of them.


End file.
